The Village Square to celebrate World Localization Day with Rural changemakers

Mr. Vinay Kumar, Director, Village Square Youth Hub

We had a conversation with Vinay Kumar, Director, Village Square Youth Hub, about organizing the World Localization Day at NCUI Auditorium, Delhi, on Monday, 20th June 2022, from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

What is the idea behind celebrating World Localization Day? Why did you feel the need for such a platform?
Since 2020, when Local Futures initiated it, WLD has become a worldwide celebration reinforcing the local as part of a global movement for healthier communities and economies.

Bridging the rural-urban gap is at the core of everything at Village Square, and on 20th June, we celebrate and champion our local- Bharat. In a largely rural country, young India knows little of Bharat. The Future is Local-Future is Young WLD event is a platform for voices, stories, and experiences of incredible rural changemakers.

We aim to place our two key stakeholders - the youth and the rural - at the core of the World Localization Day celebration for a shared afternoon of energy, enthusiasm, and learning. It would be an opportunity for urban youth to get educated about the challenges, aspirations, and hardships of rural changemakers and entrepreneurs.

Five prodigious young rural changemakers will share stories about their endeavours and challenges. Development professionals from across India, working on rural issues, will discuss the joys, hardships, and opportunities of their work. Artisans from the hinterland would give a glimpse into the vast, beautiful, and diverse food and art varieties of rural India to reach and motivate urban, young audiences.

When did you start Village Square Youth Hub, and what was your vision for it? What is the role of urban Youth you foresee in this discourse?
On Gandhi Jayanti, 2016, Village Square was created by a team of life-long development workers who believe in the power of communication as a force for change. Village Square's goal is to bring vibrant stories, insights and trends from rural India to a broader younger audience and tap into the shared humanity that unites us all.

However, there is a need for young India to seek actively, and interact with and bridge this gap in knowledge and understanding by actively engaging with Bharat. Young urban India has a critical role to play in resurgent Bharat.

The Village Square Youth Hub is creating interactive spaces for Young India in a systematic and structured way to develop their understanding of, involvement, and participation in meeting rural and developmental challenges. Youth constitute nearly 22 % of India's population (age 18-29 yrs.) and are central to any complex, multi-dimensional transformative change at the individual, community, and institutional level that we may want to achieve. They are at the forefront of voicing issues that matter to them.

Millennials and Gen Z are more likely to channel their energies to address inequities and hold themselves and others accountable. They express themselves without the constraints of conventions that dictate who can speak and who is heard.

At Village Square Youth Hub, we work to galvanize urban youth to take more interest and participate in rural issues through dialogue, storytelling and change-making. We see them at the cusp of making collaborative, transformative changes in Bharat.

What is your message for the Youth to participate?

Village Square is excited to be one of the pioneers of celebrating the localization movement in India. We look forward to developing and showcasing a network of rural influencers, impact makers, leaders and participants in change.

This event will be an opportunity for the youth to be a part of the change we want to see in India. They can see their role in bridging the ever-present Bharat India divide by listening to, learning from and getting motivated by incredible rural leaders of today.